The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Heliopsis plant botanically known as Heliopsis helianthoides and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name ‘Sunstruck’.
The new cultivar originated in a controlled breeding program in Elburn, Ill. during July 2009. The objective of the breeding program was the development of Heliopsis cultivars having large inflorescences, novel foliage color, and compact habits.
The new Heliopsis cultivar is the result of cross-pollination. The female (seed) parent of the new cultivar is the proprietary Heliopsis helianthoides breeding selection coded 3652-C5, not patented, characterized by its semi-double type, medium golden-yellow colored inflorescences, medium green and white variegated foliage, low vigor, and compact-mounded growth habit. The male (pollen) parent of the new cultivar is the proprietary Heliopsis helianthoides breeding selection coded 3649-A2, not patented, characterized by its anemone-type, dark golden-yellow colored inflorescences, medium green-colored foliage, and moderately vigorous, upright growth habit. The new cultivar was discovered and selected as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the above stated cross-pollination during July 2010 in a controlled environment in Elburn, Ill.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal stem cuttings since July 2010 in Elburn, Ill. has demonstrated that the new cultivar reproduces true to type with all of the characteristics, as herein described, firmly fixed and retained through successive generations of such asexual propagation.